Upgrade from the Santro to... the Verna CRDi SX with ABS

[sirajbose]

A quick update.

The car has completed one week till now and the odo reads around 750 kms. I took the car to Daman on this weekend and here are my driving impressions till date:

The car is a much better highway rider than a city rider. On the highway the car just drives like a dream - on road composure, ride quality, handling (upto 110 km/ph), NVH - are just excellent! Its good in the city as well, but one really needs to look at the RPM guage to make sure one is not putting too much stress on the engine (either too high RPMs or too low - lugging).

More on specific features:

The automatic climate control is a boon - and just like so many Verna owners have stated - the AC is really powerful. The AC does go to the "fresh air" mode automatically once the desired cabin temperature has been reached - however its not as annoying as I thought it would be.

A special note on the ABS - it really is a boon. On the way back from Daman on Sunday morning, there was a bike rider in front of me. We were both travelling at around 60. All of a sudden there was a one foot deep pothole on the road and the bike guy could just not avoid it and went straight in! The bike fell and so did the guy. I slammed my brakes (it was wet and raining) - and the car...just...stopped! No antics, no squealing - nothing - just a complete stop from 60 to 0. Lesson learned - ABS is absolutely worth the money - forget the damages saved - it also saves lives.

Variable Intermittent Wipers - No one has spoken much about this but this model comes with not only an intermittent wiper - but which which has variable settings - all the way from once in two seconds to one in 30 seconds. When the rain plays hide and seek - this really is a boon to use with just a quick twist of the lever. Once you get used to it - it makes you wonder how you lived so many years without it!

Stock tyres - Much has been said and debated on the upsizing of the Verna tyres - mine came shod with Bridgestone B250s with the 185 tread. For normal city driving + the highway drives till around 110/120 kmph - these tyres are completely adequate. Road grip, handling are excellent and the road noise is very acceptable. Thought I'd share this as many people run to their tyre wallahs soon after buying this car for an upsize. Although I can't comment on the 175 tread which comes shod on the non ABS Verna.

Regarding the car pulling to the left - Went to the Hyundai Sercive Center and they rectified it through realignment - the car drives more in a straight line now, however the steering feels heavier.

Till the next time then... Cheers!

[sirajbose]

The FE I got from my first fill was around 12.5 and the next one (which had the 300 kms highway Daman trip as well) was 16.5. I normally tank up as soon as the fuel gauge reads half full.

I normally upshift when the RPM reaches 2000 in any gear, or downshift if its fallen below 1000 RPM ) most common when I downshift from the 3rd to the 2nd due to the traffic.

Am I driving correctly or do I need to modify my driving style to get better FE. Please note that the engine is currently being run in (ODO reads 750 kms approximately).

Thanks!

[rippergeo]

Originally Posted by sirajbose

The FE I got from my first fill was around 12.5 and the next one (which had the 300 kms highway Daman trip as well) was 16.5. I normally tank up as soon as the fuel gauge reads half full.

I normally upshift when the RPM reaches 2000 in any gear, or downshift if its fallen below 1000 RPM ) most common when I downshift from the 3rd to the 2nd due to the traffic.

Am I driving correctly or do I need to modify my driving style to get better FE. Please note that the engine is currently being run in (ODO reads 750 kms approximately).

Thanks!

I think, you should downshift earlier. 1000rpm is too low. the engine will end up lugging if you try to accelerate. 1200 is fine.
your mileage is pretty decent.

[rjvora_2000]

Even I had this problem of engine logging on the lower Rpm that is at around 1000rpm. I will also change my way of driving.

Nice input sirji.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

I think, you should downshift earlier. 1000rpm is too low. the engine will end up lugging if you try to accelerate. 1200 is fine.
your mileage is pretty decent.